Examining the Motives of Podcast Users

Abstract

This study examines the patterns and uses of podcast users. A survey was conducted of 354 fans of shows that are podcast. These fans were found via fan websites of the shows on Facebook and MySpace. The results indicate that the bulk of the podcast users are well educated and affluent. The respondents also prefer to listen to the podcasts via portable devices. Almost 90% of the users reported actually using the show they downloaded. Motivations of using podcasts include entertainment, timeshifting, library building, a favorable view of advertising and a social aspect of the podcasts that centers around discussing the shows with other fans. There is some evidence here to suggest that the social factor motivation is also a predictor of podcast use. Heavy users of podcasts also reported to not have a negative view of the advertisers who supported the podcasts.

Why Pod? Further Explorations of the Motivations for Independent Podcasting

“…This attentive listening and visualization of content suggests movement away from current radio listening as a background, likely due to the ''time-shifted and place-shifted content'' (Johnson, 2007, p. 11) of podcasts. McClung and Johnson (2010) used social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace to recruit fans of the top 20 podcasts on iTunes, for a survey on fans' podcast usage and listening motivations. They found that a majority of the podcast fans were between the ages of 18 to 34, with 62.1% being female and 73.8% having completed college or higher.…”

“…In addition, some researchers have focused on issues related to podcast listening and consumption (Johnson, 2007;MacDougall, 2011;McClung & Johnson, 2010;Qing et al, 2007;Ritter & Cho, 2009). However, knowledge about podcasters, particularly independent podcasters, is still limited to only a handful of studies (Markman, 2012;Millette, 2011;Mocigemba & Riechmann, 2007;Yang, 2010).…”

Podcasting: Considering the evolution of the medium and its association with the word ‘radio’

“…The podcast listener has a different journey, one that starts with making a series of choices over what they want to hear, often before that piece of audio has been produced and certainly before they begin to hear it. This places podcasting as a 'pull' medium, one where the listener is more active in the process of selection and scheduling (Murray 2009;McClung and Johnson 2010), where there may also be an emotional investment in the process. While new intermediaries such as iTunes, Pocketcasts, Acast and other apps are increasingly curating and mediating this process (Morris and Patterson 2015), this is a process where the listener has a greater degree of autonomy.…”

Photo-messaging: Adopter attributes, technology factors and use motives

“…Papacharissi and Mendelson (2011) found that expressive information sharing, habitual pass time, entertainment, cool and new trend, companionship, professional advancement, social interaction, and new friendships were all motives for using Facebook. Additional research has also addressed motivations for using various types of new media delivery modalities, including podcast use (McClung & Johnson, 2010), blog use (Armstrong & McAdams, 2011) and mobile phone use (Wei, 2008). Kindberg, Spasojevic, Fleck, and Sellen (2005) developed a taxonomy of intentions for camera phone use, including functional vs. affective and individual vs. social dimensions; these intentions are similar to user motivations.…”